A review by titas_library
Rink Rash by Santana Knox

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

“I hate that her laughter makes my heart beat faster. I despise how free it makes her look, how there’s a piece of me that wants to know what she looks like when I’m the one forcing it from her lips.”

First, I want to thank Santana Knox and Samantha of Smuthood PR for allowing me to read this amazing book ahead of release.

I’ve been sitting here for over 10 minutes, just trying to put my thoughts into words. I’m still not sure how to explain my feelings towards this book and its characters but I’ll try to do it justice. 

This book deals with a lot of dark themes. 
Both main characters struggle with grief following the death of a close friend, and both women deal with it in very different ways. I think it was interesting to see their thought process and feeling regarding this loss. The dual pov makes you feel like all the decisions the main characters make are maybe not justified, but understandable.  
One of the main characters is addicted to drugs, and the author spares no details in showing what that addiction looks and feels like. It was very emotional but somehow never hard to read. If you have a problem with seeing drug abuse and withdrawal symptoms, this book is not for you. However, if you are looking for a book that doesn’t downplay the effects and horrors of addiction this is exactly what you want.

The author did a great job of making me feel for both of the main characters and by the end of the first few chapters I was hooked. The chemistry between Vera and Madeline is insaneeeee. Both women deny liking each other at first and I just wanted to scream at them to just kiss. When they finally did and their relationship started developing, it was clear how much they cared about each other. Veras addiction is obviously a huge factor in their relationship but it was still so obvious that the main characters truly love each other. 
When I say I want more dark romance, this is exaclty what I mean!

Apart from the character driven part, there was also a plot that I really enjoyed. The roller derby scenes were really fun (and hot!) to read and perfectly set a background for the story. 

Tropes:
• sports romance
• Small town
• Spicy!
• Rivals to lovers
• Found family
• Dark romance
• “I didn’t know where else to go”

Trigger Warnings: 
• Active Addiction (narcotics, heroin)
• OD (intentional and accidental)
• Suicidal Ideation
• Relapse
• Withdrawal
• Physical Assault
• Death Of A Loved One 
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